Two of our kids are now living away at college.
Our daughter, Shelby, is a junior attending a college about two hours from home. Here she is just after we moved her into her first apartment across the street from campus.
Our son, Connor, is a freshman living on campus about 30 minutes from home. Here he is on his rainy move-in day.
They are both just wrapping up their first week of classes so I decided to check in. I sent a text to each of them, asking how things are going.
Here's how Shelby responded:
After texting Shelby, she called me back within an hour and we proceeded to talk for almost two hours. Two hours! She told me in detail about her classes, teachers, and classmates. She talked about some of the assignments and projects she will be doing - even sending me a link to one of the articles she had studied in her journalism class. She described how she is adjusting to living in her own apartment for the first time -- what she's been eating and how she hasn't quite yet figured out what to buy at the grocery, how she's been sleeping, how fast their trash cans fill up and have to be taken to the dumpster, how often she has been washing the dishes, and how she finally figured out where the mailboxes are located. She talked about her roommates. We discussed her future plans and that she is thinking of adding some type of art minor to her program of study if she can fit it in. Shelby told me where she has been parking versus sometimes walking to class. We talked about the new job she will soon be starting and how she is a little nervous because she has never worked in the food industry. I was able to catch up on what some of her friends have been up to as well as hear about some of the new international friends she has met (including the "beautiful guy from Scotland" and the "hilarious guy from Taiwan"). As I said, this conversation lasted for almost two hours and this mama relished every second. This is such an exciting time for her and I love that she wants to share so much of it with me.
Here's how Connor responded:
He replied to my text with a one word response...."fine"
Yep, that's all I got from him. He's fine.
He moved away from home for the first time and began his first semester as a college freshman.
But, everything's "fine".
You gotta love it!
